This is also called "Trut" celebration. Trut means "to be cut" or
"to end". So this simply indicates that a year has come to the end,
according to the lunar calendar adopted from the Indians. The ceremony
covers the last two days of the old year and the first day of the new
year. The ceremony began during the Sukhothai period and lasted until
the reign of King Rama V. Later, it was combined with the Songkran
festival. Trut is celebrated separately only in some rural villages.
Like in most ceremonies, people make merit by offering food to monks
and going to listen to a sermon at the temple. The purpose is to have
a good start for a new period in life and to preserve an old Thai
tradition.
